It's a Numbers Thing

Since this is my 444th post, perhaps it's appropriate to post some random musings on one of my more bizarre quirks.

I've always been a numbers girl -- I loved math when I was younger (until I got past algebra), and have always enjoyed the consistency, structure, and predictability of mathematical equations. But numbers themselves also fascinate me.

For instance, I can't decide whether my favorite time of day is 11:11 or 12:34 (p.m. in the latter case, since I prefer not to be conscious at 12:34 a.m.!). 11:11 has the advantage of four of the same numeral in a row, but 12:34 has a certain irresistible draw because it uses the numbers from one to four in order.

And any number that includes three or more numerals is subject to dissection in my mind, because I always try to find a way to make an equation out of it. An address like "1459 Main Street" is very satisfactory, because 1 x 4 + 5 = 9. I've caught myself becoming vexed when there's no way to make a telephone number add up!

I did warn you that this was going to be random. Deep down, I'm hoping that someone else who becomes excited when they notice it's 5:55 in the afternoon will chime in and say "Oh, I know exactly what you mean!" Because part of me worries that there's some long Latin name involving mental abnormality to describe this particular numeric quirk. *wink*

And to honor this 444th milestone (doesn't that triad of fours have a satisfying symmetry?) -- and to seal my psychiatric diagnosis -- I'll go ahead and schedule this post for 4:44 this afternoon.

Three Reasons to Love Autumn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Useful Bag for Putting Things In

"Things" in this case being cloth diapers waiting to be laundered. After shopping around on the Internet for wet bags, I realized that I could save some money by making my own. Fortunately, PUL has become widely available on the Internet -- and even my local JoAnn's carries some in some rather offensively bright colors!

JoAnn's had the cheapest price (coupon + no shipping), so I pulled some fabric out of my stash to make a more attractive covering for the bag.

This is such a simple "pattern" -- two rectangles, with squares cut out of the bottom corners to give the bag some shape at the bottom. For the PUL, I put the fold on the bottom of the bag, since a seam at the bottom would have more chance of leaking. The wet bag and the decorative shell are sewn separately, only connected at the zipper and the top seam. I also used French seams on the wet bag, hoping that they might be more leak-proof than regular seams.

Originally I made a casing and added a drawstring -- but it proved to be difficult to cinch, and the bag wouldn't close completely. Since it's quite roomy, I ended up cutting the casing off entirely and adding a zipper. Which was nerve-wracking, but (thankfully) effective!

A little handle for hanging and transport to the laundry was a must. I discovered during this process that tissue paper worked wonders when I was trying to sew the PUL (which has a "sticky" texture that makes it difficult to sew). The tissue paper tears away easily, and makes the whole process so much simpler! And while I usually use as few pins as possible, *not* being able to pin was quite annoying! But apparently any extra holes in the PUL could lead to a leak.

You can see the shiny waterproof side of the PUL through the opening -- fortunately I checked on the Internet before I started sewing and found out that the smooth side goes on the *inside* of the bag.

This bag is intended for day-to-day use at home; I've made a smaller "outing" version (just simple rectangles with a zipper) for the diaper bag, using the same fabrics. $10 for 2 yards of PUL gave me plenty for both of these bags, with enough left over for at least another outing-size bag and some smaller projects. For three bags online I would have paid at least $35, so I'm pleased with the economic aspect of this project.

But the real test will be seeing if they actually work!

7/21/2011 UPDATE: Well, the large bag has bitten the dust. That cute cotton cover would get soaked during washing, resulting in my having to throw the whole thing in the dryer when I couldn't line dry. It was just too wet to dry inside (as in, dripping wet). JoAnn's cheap PUL is really not up to high-heat drying, and eventually the laminate started to peel off. So I pulled out my remaining PUL and a made a new bag without a cover. It works fine, plus I was able to correct a few things I didn't like about the first one (especially the zipper). Live and learn!

3/23/2012 UPDATE: Even with my updated version (just PUL, so I could let it air dry), the JoAnn's PUL started de-laminating within a few months. I think JoAnns carries cloth-diaper specific PUL in their notions area now, but I went ahead and bought a Rumparooz Kanga Care Wet Bag in August, which has been serving me very well. It's just large enough for one load of cloth diapers, and it's more compact than my original bag. My design worked just fine, and would probably still be in use if I had made it with better PUL. Live and learn!

Recovery

When it came to seating in the baby's nursery, we knew we wanted some sort of rocker or glider. Searches for rocking chairs on Craigslist were utterly fruitless, and I ended up finding just one glider that looked possible -- the price was right, and the picture looked great.

Of course, a 3" picture on Craigslist and real life are two different things. As it turned out, the upholstery was sadly in need of a re-do, the seat and ottoman cushions had been replaced with less-than-adequate substitutes, and there were a few scuffs. But it was wonderfully comfortable, and the sellers accepted our offer. It sat in our garage for a month, while I worked up the gumption to start working on it. Home decor sewing -- and upholstery in particular -- simply terrifies me.

At last, out of other sewing projects (and excuses), I took the plunge. I decided to take off the black gingham cover and use it as a pattern. Underneath was a *horrible* khaki-grey fabric, complete with stains and faded spots that had taken on a pinkish hue. And surprise! There was a headrest piece meant to fold over the back of the cushion, which the previous "recoverer" had decided to ignore by folding it down and pretending it wasn't there. Bizarre.

But that wasn't the only surprise! The khaki cover had a zipper at the bottom, which revealed that this glider started out in a blue-and-white stripe! I felt like I was peeling back the layers of an onion. Ironically, the original fabric had virtually no stains, while both covers were spotted and worn.

I used the khaki cover as a pattern, turning it inside-out and carefully clipping just along the stitching line. Not wanting to put more money into this project than absolutely necessary, I looked in my stash and found a navy blue twill just begging to be used. I traced the pattern pieces on my fabric (and actually remembered to add in the seam allowance!), cut them out, and began sewing.

The headrest (which looked difficult to cover) turned out to be quite simple, to my great relief. I was even able to re-use the Velcro from the khaki cover to secure the headrest to the back of the cushion.

Now I was ready to tackle the seat and ottoman cushions. So I trotted along to JoAnn's -- and found out, as a first-time foam buyer, just how prohibitively expensive foam-by-the-yard is. Even at 50% off. For some reason, the pre-cut packaged foam was much less expensive, and I managed to find a package of 2" foam that was the right size for a reasonable price.

Then there was the issue of cutting the foam -- but my husband had the answer for that, since his family had discovered that electric carving knives are the best for such a project. I used a piece of batting to figure out the correct shape for the cushion, then traced it onto the foam. Using what I had on hand, I hand-stitched two layers of batting to the top of the foam, and one to the bottom for extra "cush." The cover was a bit improvised, but to my relief it worked like a charm.

I skipped the little straps-with-snaps at the top of the back cushion, and added fabric ties instead. You can't really see the snaps on the glider, and the ties do a more than adequate job of keeping the cushion up.

I'm so grateful that this turned out to be so much less traumatic (and expensive) than I had anticipated! I still have to purchase foam for the ottoman cushion, but that can wait. My dear husband indulged my late-night nesting instincts by taking out the twin bed to make room for the glider. Nestled into a corner by a sunny window, it is now one of my Favorite Spots. It's already passed the reading, writing, day-dreaming, and cat-napping tests (with flying colors, I might add) -- but I'm most looking forward to the baby-snuggling test in a few weeks!

My Favorite Volunteer

As we were trying to clean out some dead shrubbery earlier this year, I was insistent that we pull out some very tall, *very* dead brown stalks by our back porch stairs. But by the time we got around to pulling them out, there were a few green leaves peeking out at the base of the plant. Pablo trimmed back the dead stalks, and we waited to see what would happen.

After a month or two, we had a healthy little bush with a few buds. And not long after, those buds unfurled to reveal scarlet blooms with delicate ruffled edges.

Our hibiscus has been blooming for months now, and even though the weather has turned crisp, we can count on a few more beautiful flowers every morning. The plant I was so determined to trash is now flourishing.

I suppose our hibiscus doesn't technically count as a volunteer, since it was planted by the previous homeowner -- but still, it's such a lovely surprise to have something so beautiful grow up in the last place you'd expect!

Not-So-Simply Sheets

After discovering that sheets for Pack 'n Plays are not cheap (and apparently don't come in the correct size for the one we purchased), I realized that my best option would be to make my own. This would be a simple matter of measuring, buying some flannel, sewing a few seams, and adding some elastic. So simple.

Simple -- unless "baby brain" kicks in during the measuring stage, thereby requiring a sudden change of plan after you've already cut your material. Fortunately, my brilliant engineer of a husband suggested an easy fix that worked wonderfully, thanks to the folding capacity of the bassinet mattress. Unfortunately, this also meant altering the waterproof pads to fit in with the new design -- but I think the overall result is even better than what I originally had in mind.

Soft blue-and-white polka dot flannel to go with the Classic Pooh Pack 'n Play we found on Craigslist -- I never would have paid extra to get a Classic Pooh design, so I was thrilled when this one popped up!

And before you get any ideas about gender (blue walls! Blue sheets! Blue playpen!), we painted the nursery before we saw any sonograms, I love to decorate with blue, and I consider blue a gender neutral color. And actually, we're still not sure of the baby's gender. Sorry to disappoint, but that's the way it is. *wink*

And before I get any concerned comments, my old Winnie-the-Pooh bear is just "breaking in" the bassinet for the baby -- I do know better than to leave stuffed animals in an infant's crib. Just saying.

So for less than the cost of one regular crib sheet (though with a few more headaches), there's a neat little stack of flannel in the dresser drawer, ready for a new nursery occupant -- and an occasional midnight change!

May I Tie Your Mei Tai?

After reading through the many helpful comments on my Babyitis post, I was inspired by Serena's comment to try making a Mei Tai baby wrap. I had purchased a few yards of cotton gauze to make a long wrap carrier, but with the various other baby-related purchases we've been making, I didn't feel very comfortable about it -- especially since there's no guarantee that the baby would even like it!

So when I discovered that all I'd need to buy to make a Mei Tai was $3 worth of batting, I took back my gauze and started looking for tutorials! I found several that I liked, but I ended up using the DIY Hood to Headrest Mei Tai Tutorial. I really liked the professional construction methods and the overall look of this carrier.

Yvonne is modeling for me, since my rotund mid-section is not best suited for anything requiring a waist! I kept "trying on" the Mei Tai while I was making it, and becoming concerned that it seemed to have such an unusual fit -- until I remembered that my current "baby carrier" was obstructing a proper fit! Also, I made no effort to tie the carrier *just so* in the pictures, since I'm guessing this is something I'll have to experiment with -- so don't be alarmed by the absence of sturdy tying technique!

The fabrics I chose were a tan embroidered linen, salvaged from this no-longer-needed skirt, and a black twill that I recently obtained when my sister was getting rid of some of her fabric stash. I love that this tutorial has a hood that can also be rolled up to use as a headrest -- how practical that will be, I'm in no position to say. But it's cute either way, so I don't mind! *wink* A little bit of black ric-rac for the hood was a must, of course.

I did change a few things with the tutorial -- for one, I didn't sew the straps right-sides-together, turn them inside out, and then stuff the batting inside. Insead, I simply folded under the seam allowances on the straps, placed the batting in the appropriate position, and topstitched all around the edges of the straps before reinforcing stitching on the batting area. It was not too complicated, and turn out just fine. I also shortened the batting for both the shoulders and waist. I do love the batting feature, since I think this will make the carrier much more comfortable. I'm not thrilled about such wide straps, but most of the websites I looked at recommended keeping the straps wide to help with back strain.

For the "stitching boxes" where the shoulder connects to the strap, I drew out my box on tissue paper, pinned it to the carrier, and sewed along the lines twice. So simple!

With all of the batting, topstitching, and measuring, this felt more like a home decor project than a baby project! But I'm so happy with how it turned out, and it seems quite sturdy. Whether or not it will work... well, only time will tell. But if it doesn't, at least I didn't spend much money or effort on it. Still, here's hoping that a certain little someone finds it just right!

So what's with the title? After pronouncing this thing "My Tie" in my head for years (which I admit doesn't make any sense, considering that "ei" and "ai" are unlikely to make the same sound!), I'm trying to re-train myself to say "May Tie." So if you hear me walking around muttering, "May I Tie Your Mei Tai," don't think I've gone off my rocker. Not yet, anyway. *wink*

Going Natural

When the Fall decorating bug bit me last week, I started looking for ways to do some simple projects. I have tons of Indian corn from a Walmart sale a few years ago, but figuring out what to do with it is a different matter! I tried tying a few pieces together and hanging it from the front door, but it needed something else.

Something like a grapevine wreath. But at that moment I had no transportation, and no desire to shell out a few dollars for a wreath. What I do have is several miles of wild grapevines in the back yard.

All I needed for this project was a pair of garden shears, plenty of grapevine, and some patience (stripping the leaves off of a vine is not exactly a thrilling occupation).

This was actually much easier than I anticipated! Just wrapping the vines in a circle and tying them off with softer pieces of vine did the trick. As I progressed, I would alternate -- I'd bend one piece of vine in a circle along the wreath, and then I'd wrap the next piece of vine in a spiral around the wreath. Once the wreath had a little bit of body, I'd just insert the ends of the vines into the wreath to secure them.

My wreath is still a bit thin, but I was ready to call it a day -- I can always add a few more vines next year, if I want to. A few pieces of Indian corn and some raffia, and it was ready to go!